Within the last 15 years, as the properties of carbon nanotubes have been better understood, interests in carbon nanotubes have greatly increased within and outside of the research community. One key to making use of these properties is the synthesis of nanotubes in sufficient quantities for them to be used industrially. For example, large quantities of carbon nanotubes may be needed if they are to be used as high strength components of CNTs in macroscale three-dimensional structures (i.e., structures having dimensions greater than about 1 cm).
Carbon nanotubes are known to have extraordinary tensile strength, including high strain to failure and relatively high tensile modulus. At a molecular level, carbon nanotubes may also be highly electrically and thermally conductive while being resistant to fatigue, radiation damage, and heat. For example, carbon nanotubes can be good thermal and electrical conductors along the tube, where each individual tube can have thermal conductivities potentially in excess of 2000 W/m·K. However, this conductivity is anisotropic, exhibiting properties with different values when measured in different directions and is dramatically reduced when a large ensemble of tubes are used in a sheet or mat.
A carbon nanotube material, having decreased electrical resistance between adjacent carbon nanotubes so as to increase overall conductivity of the material, would be desirable.